Sweet Dreams of You
by Iamskittles
Summary: Sweet dreams of you Every night I go through Why can't I forget you and start my life anew Instead of having sweet dreams about you
1. A rainy day won't keep the doctor away

A/N: Kay, yeah I have another fanfic that needs attention, but, I got bit by the Cowboy Bebop bug and I spent a whole week cutting school(not important school) so i can watch the whole series again, and I remembered how much I didn't like Julia. More so, Julia and spike _together._ I dunno, the chick didn't inspire any fangirl squealing/crying anguish in me when they killed her off. I was just a lil sad cuz spike liked/loved(ihavenodamnideawhyandnoonecanfixthat) her and he was gonna be sad. And I don't like sad spike. It's like those damn aspca commercials. So, I then got bit by the fanfic bug and here we are. My writing speaks for itself, so I'm not gonna explain anymore unless I'm asked a direct question by one of you. So, read and review. Heavy on the review. I need them like Viscous needs red eye.

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Helen Thibodeaux was a cautious woman. Everywhere she went, she was always ready for at least a nuclear disaster and not much more. She never turned her back to an open door and never wore the same outfit twice. Although, the latter could be chalked down to simple women habits, it was a practice she treated like a catholic does Lenten season.

Along with her caution, she was superstitious. Never set foot on the same street as a black cat, never left home without an acorn in her pocket. She was of creole heritage, so, this was common, but, the way she had always treated her superstitions baffled people. Strangers and friends alike.

For those who knew her, they thought she was afraid of something she would never say. For strangers, it would be a passing tenseness in the room that would have them wanting to leave much sooner than what was possible. Since she was a Doctor, this meant her patients would be more careful with themselves so they didn't need to go back.

The woman was an oxymoron; living such a dangerous life and constantly throwing salt over her shoulder was her meager attempt at self-preservation. She could duke it out with the best of them, being ex-military, but she was one woman. She knew all too well that if/when the someone wanted to take her out that they were very well capable to send an army after her, if need be. It's a sad life to live, always watching her back, when her greatest talent was protecting someone else's.

That was the reason she was out that night. Rain pouring down on two women, who could not give a single fuck if the water was ruining their hair and Helen's best leather jacket. Her crimson hair had been pulled up and away from her face in a low, soggy bun, the strands sticking to the sides of her face from being so damp. Her comrade was in a similar predicament, the rain giving her blonde hair a mustardy hue, but, at least, she was smart enough to wear a black trench coat if the weather went south.

Helen had the sense to bring an umbrella, but, unfortunately for them, it was just wide enough for only half of both women. Meaning, Helen's left shoulder was being pummeled with rain.

", Dammit, why now, of all times?" Helen complained to her wayward companion.

The taller blonde woman replied in her deep voice," I guess this is Mar's way of welcoming newcomers".

Helen held the umbrella higher," Cheap welcome," She stopped to survey the street for a bar or restaurant, anything to get them out of the rain for a while. She was starting to feel a chill. ", Hey, we should stop in this bar for a bit. Give us a chance to dry off and warm up a little," She was pointing to the small neon sign above a black door.

", Good thinking. And, we could use a drink or two, right about now," The blonde said, as she strained her eyes to find where Helen was pointing.

Helen nodded, the motion shaking a few drops of water from her hair. The two then hurried across the road and ducked under the tiny awning that was suspended above the bar's door. Helen retracted the umbrella, briefly shaking water from it, and then tucking it in her brown leather messenger bag where it came from. The tall blonde held open the door for her red-headed partner before making her own way into the smoky bar.

It was an ordinary bar, pool tables, stools, drunken people gambling on pool. The usual. What was unusual, was the reactions of more than half of the (six) patrons to the two women's' arrival. Helen tried not to stare back, but, one of the pairs of eyes that were glued to her and her Nordic looking companion had her frozen on the spot. She felt as if she were a small mouse, staring into the eyes of the serpent as it was about to coil itself around her, crushing her internal organs so it can swallow her whole. It was a feeling of vulnerability that she did not appreciate.

A cool hand on her elbow mercifully broke the trance. She let her eyes dart away from the snake to her angelic friend. The look of concern and apprehension in her blue eyes wasn't missed by the red-head. In fact, it was shared.

How could one random man spark a reaction so strong out of them just by a _look_? It was obvious to them that he was one to stay away from, even if they only planned to be in the barroom for just a few minutes. This was a man who could do some serious damage in such a small time frame. Long, ever lasting damage.

Helen let herself be pulled gently to the bar. Once there, the two women shrugged off their wet coats and ignored the inquisitive/coveting eyes of the bar patrons.

The bartender appeared in front of them, with the first welcoming smile they had received since landing on the planet. Helen was immediately fond of the older man. She returned his smile with warmth.

", What can I get for you two strangers?" He said.

The blonde woman responded first," Cape Cod, for me, Mister. Hopefully we won't be strangers to this town for long".

", Rum and coke, for me. Cozy place, you have here. We're lucky we found it, or, we'd still be wandering about town in that monsoon, out there," Helen stated.

The bartender went about getting their drinks," Ah, so, where are you two from? We get all kinds of wanderers, but, not too many immigrants," He said, handing the Nordic beauty her red drink.

She sipped it daintily, making Helen want to giggle at her 'proper lady' act. ", Oh, all around. We don't really stay in one place for too long; so, we can't really delegate one single place as where we're from. Only where we are at the current moment," Helen answered.

The bartender smiled and handed her her own drink," Well, I'm sure you two have a few stories to tell, then. Seeing so many places. Meeting all kinds of folks. That my favorite part of owning this bar. All the stories".

Now, Helen really liked the guy. He was one of those old souls, always smiling and offering a friendly face. Even to strangers like her.

", We have our share of stories, alright. Everywhere we seem to go, this one manages to get herself in trouble," The blue-eyed woman answered.

Helen chuckled, her own green-blue eyes laughing at the many good times they shared, roaming the galaxy. ", You seem to be forgetting all the times I've saved your hide, Julia,"

", You mean the times where I was in danger trying to save you in the first place?" She tossed back, smiling.

", All for a good cause, Julia, all for a good cause," Helen waved her friend off.

", Yeah, well, your good causes always end up coming back to bite me," She smiled a half-smile.

", It was just one time! That kid was on the brink of starvation, of course, he was going to try to take a bite out of the first good-looking thing he sees," Helen took a swig of her drink. ", What about that one time, remember? Before the war? You wanted to go to Callisto to see if there really weren't any women there," Helen reminded.

Julia shut her eyes in shame", Dear, god, don't remind me," They turned towards the bartender.

", Mister, if you really want to hear a good story, you should listen up, cuz' this one's a doozy," Helen informed.

The man leaned down on the bar on his forearms. ", Two pretty women on Callisto? Now, that's pretty...daring,"

Helen waved him off," Sir, you can say it was stupid. Queen of the blue balls over here has long accepted the idiocy of her decision, and, has moved on to thinking through her actions. See, we were just sixteen, and we were out on our own. I had just enlisted in the military and was set to be leaving for basic training in a month,''

Julia had gained a sad look in her eyes at the memory of her oldest friend leaving for war. ", It was going to be the longest time we had ever been apart since we met, so, I proposed we take a vacation. More, like a road trip, so to say,"

", I wanted to go to Ganymede, but, Nope. Not enough danger, she says. No _real_excitement, she says".

Julia giggled," We had been to Venus, and I thought it seemed way too similar. The chances of Helen not coming back from war were too high for us to just sunbathe on a beach. I wanted one last ride. One last great adventure to tell my grand-kids, and I'd heard stories about the lawless nature of the land. I thought, 'Bam! this is it!'," She hid her face in her hands briefly laughing at herself.

", My stupid ass agreed with her, so, we took my spacecraft and took off," Helen said.

", When we got there, it was as if the citizens could smell the higher level of estrogen in the air. Right off the bat, we were surrounded by a welcoming committee of every lowlife you can think of. Drug dealers, pimps, gangs, the occasional lawyer," Julia laughed.

Helen was laughing, as well," All of them were just, _so_predictable".

", 'Hey, baby, want to go with me to a bar?'".

", 'Hey, baby, you lost? Me and my pals can help you out if you just come with us to our abandoned warehouse. Yeah, it's cool, just fifty miles out in the wilderness, where no one can hear you scream'".

", 'Hey, baby, I can see you're a Doctor, amiright? I got this bite somewhere in my pants. Maybe you can rub the puss out'" Julia was dying from the memory.

Helen collapsed her head on the bar laughing.

", It took some small talk and the threat of castration, but, we made it out of there and we ended up in this bar,'' Julia continued.

Helen tuned out the story, feeling eyes burning a hole in her back. She had a good feeling it was snake eyes from earlier, but, she didn't lift her head to acknowledge him. There was something eerily familiar about him, though. Maybe, from the war?

The thick, howling laughter of their bartender brought Helen out of her thoughts. She perked her head up to smile at her friend, who, despite also laughing, was giving her, an understanding look.

Her misty blue eyes were trained on the gray haired man staring at her friend. She didn't like the way he looked at Helen like she was supposed to be doing something else. It gave her the feeling of a butcher staring down at the still living animal he was about to slaughter, knife upraised and about to strike.

", Is he still staring?" Helen asked lips at the mouth of her glass.

She nodded slightly," I think it's about time we hit the road again. What do you say?"

", Yup, I'm ready to find our inn and crash," Helen said as she stood up and stretched her arms above her head.

They gathered their things and bid goodnight to the humble bartender.

", Goodnight, Ladies. You'll have to stop by again, sometime, while you're still in town," The kind man said, waving.

Julia smiled," We will".

The two donned their coats and stepped towards the door.

", To think after all we've been through, you're going to see me and not even say 'hello'?''

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A/N: Review. Don't make me go through withdrawals. It ain't pretty.


	2. Hi

A/N: Yeah, I know the war was in 2068, but, this is fan fiction. I call the shots on this bad boy, and, to suit my needs, the war is now 3 years B.S.(don't laugh *chuckle* ok maybe a lil bit, it means before series) everything pretty much stays the same aside from my oc, rearranging a certain character's place in the story, and a few events and transactions. This doesn't affect Gren's story too much, it just stretches his plans out a bit. As always, Read and gosh darnit review.

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Helen and Julia both turned around to face the deep voice behind them. Helen, with a questioning gaze, Julia, with a suspicious one.

Standing behind them was the gray-haired man who had stared at the red-haired woman since they entered the bar. Of course so did most of the other (six. c'mon it was a Tuesday) patrons, but, they had gotten over the new shiny toy syndrome. Now, he was staring at both women, with a casual smirk on his face.

Helen was staring flabbergasted. Now, that he was standing directly under a light, she could see him clearly. She was right in her assumption that she already knew him from somewhere. Her mouth fell just a small bit, before, spreading out in a wide grin.

", No way!" She cried, breaking out into a full force run towards the man.

Julia just stared deadpanned and confused. _'Throw yourself at the creepy stranger, why don't you'_

The gray-haired man was able to catch the (supposedly) full-grown woman when she tackled him, and wrapped his arms around her body, lifting her off the ground. Helen had her arms around his neck, to keep her from falling.

", Long time, no see, Hel, I was beginning to think you had died out there," The man said, rocking them slightly.

He set her back down on the floor, but left his hands on the woman's forearms.

", Ditto, I almost didn't recognize you! Why didn't you come out of the dark sooner? We thought you were a psycho ax murderer or something," Helen teased.

", I would've, had I known you weren't going to remember me. A lesser man would be hurt, Helen," He said.

She smiled sheepishly," Hehehe,"

", So, whose your friend," She heard Julia ask from behind her.

", OH! Julia, this is Vicious, Vicious, Julia. Vicious and I were in the same unit on Titan, remember. I told you about him, before," She said, turning so she could face both of them at the same time.

Recognition swept across the blonde's features," Oh, right, him and the other guy. Grell, I think it was,"

", Gren, but, yeah, same people," Helen said.

Julia extended her hand to shake the gray-haired man's, "Thanks for keeping an eye out on her. She had me worried sick the whole time she was away".

He shook her hand," Thanks for looking out for every other time. She's a real character; it'd be a shame for that fire to be put out".

His words made Julia squint her eyes, questioning the obviously dangerous man's feelings for her fire haired companion. ", Yeah, a real character".

The man gave her a freezing look in return, before, pointing his eyes back to Helen ", what brings you to Tharsis? Last time I checked, we weren't really in need of girl-robin hood,"

It was something he had started calling her after a conversation about their pasts. Hers was filled with stories of leaping into the fire and flames, risking herself, and, sometimes others, to help those who couldn't help themselves. It was her life's mission, and, she took it seriously. Not to the point of being offended by the nickname, but, to where there was so very little that could make her turn her back on someone in need. In retaliation to the endearing term, she had begun calling him scarecrow, for his perpetually tired eyes.

", No, not Robin Hood, but, you don't have a hospital here. I'm going to open up a walk-in clinic, and, Julia here, will be my stunning assistant," She told him, patting Julia's shoulder when she mentioned the blonde.

Julia was still trying to search the man's soul through his eyes. She could tell what he wanted from Helen, but, there was a reason the two women stuck together all those years. From the war stories she got from her friend, Vicious was painted as a man who was rough around the edges, but, he was very protective of his comrades. Helen even recited a tale where the gray-haired man shielded her body with his from a live grenade when her back was turned.

When she had heard of Vicious, she had inkling that her friend was oblivious to the man's true intentions toward her. She couldn't then say for sure, she had never been to war. That may have been expected from friends, to protect each other at the cost of your own life. But, in the world Julia knew, you had to really fucking like a person to take a _paintball_ for them. Now, meeting him, seeing the way he looked at her friend like the red-head was made of precious crystal, she was positive the guy had a thing for her. Now, she needed to figure out if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He still reeked of danger.

Vicious nodded in understanding," It's about time. We don't really have any doctors here, either. Your presence is going to be welcome in the community".

Helen smiled," I hope so".

Vicious wrapped his arm around Helen's shoulders, making the 5'7'' woman shrink inwardly. She wasn't particular to being manhandled in any way...

", Why don't you let me buy you a drink? Surely, wherever it is you need to be can wait an hour or two," He said, not waiting for an answer as he pulled Helen back towards the bar.

Julia stared at the man's back in shock that her friend was letting herself be hauled off.

Back at the bar, Vicious ordered her another rum and coke and got two glasses of a dark honey colored liquor. Helen leaned against the bar inspecting the left side of her old friends face as he ordered.

He hadn't changed physically, since she had last seen him, but, there was something there that wasn't before. She couldn't put her finger on it, but, he had changed mentally. She tossed away the thought, when he leaned his head to the side, so he could stare at her, smiling.

'', War_ changes people. It'd be something if he wasn't affected by Titan. I know I was," _She thought.

", Something wrong?" He asked.

She shook her head," Just thinking about how long it's been since I saw anyone from Titan".

He turned around and mimicked her leaning against the bar, their shoulders touching each other.

", It has been a while, hasn't it? Some days it still feels like yesterday".

She nodded," I know what you mean," She closed her eyes for the briefest second before they shot open wide ", Hey, have you talked to Gren, since?" She trailed off.

He shook his head," No, and not for lack of trying. It seems like he just dropped off the face of the Earth. Like you did, all this time".

", Sorry about that. Some of the places Julia and I end up have bad signal. We were lucky to even get a bloody weather report sometimes".

", Places like Callisto?''

She blushed, laughing;" You could hear all that, all the way over there?"

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder," I hear and see _everything_," He said, lowly in hear ear.

This just made her blush brighter. She was no virgin, but, it wasn't like she slept around, either. Thinking back, it was probably about three years since she had been with anyone. The very thought of Vicious being interested in her in that way just sent waves of warmth through her body. He was attractive, no denying that fact, and he had always been a good friend to her, but, the thought of a one night stand with him upset her. She would be living in the same town, and, she didn't want to tiptoe around, afraid that she might see him and have to bear the awkward conversation. She didn't want to damn their friendship to that.

She placed her left hand on his chest and nudged him away lightly," Get your drinks, Crow," She said smiling.

She missed the slight frown he made before he turned to do as she said. Julia, who was now standing by the pool tables looking back at them with a bored look on her face, did not.

Vicious handed her her glass before lifting his own, initiating a quaint toast, "Old friends?"

Helen didn't disappoint, "Old friends."

They each took a sip of their respected poisons, before the gray haired man made a motion towards the pool tables.

", Speaking of old friends, there's someone you should meet, before you leave," Vicious said.

With a curious look, Helen followed her tired looking comrade to the drunken male pissing contest looking at her friend Julia, shrugging after the blonde saw the crow holding two glasses of hooch.

They stopped when Vicious placed the second glass in front of a pool cue right as it was about to strike the white ball.

", You're blocking my shot," Came from the fuzzy haired guy at the end of the pool stick.

", You're not going to win anyway. I've got a couple of people I need to introduce you to," Vicious said, as the lanky stranger grabbed the glass in his hand and took a healthy swig.

", No."

", What do you mean, 'no'?"

", I mean, I'm not in the mood to meet more of your bland, ooky, Zen master samurai friends," The man said.

Helen gave the man a once over. Slightly shorter than Vicious, but, still towering over her, skinny, but, lean. She'd place him in his early to mid-twenties. By his movements, she pegged him as a martial artist. Weird fuzzy green hair, and, by a subtle glint of red his right eye was cybernetic. She gave a hum of approval when she noticed that he could move both eyes, which meant it was a quality job done by a proper physician, not some junk doctor in a shack.

", This has to be Spike, right? Spike Spiegel?" She asked Vicious.

Vicious nodded his head, eyes closed, as his long time buddy stared in the direction of the two women for the first time. He was of the small portion of bar patrons who didn't even look up when they first entered the bar. Now that he was noticing them, the man wouldn't look away. He had a dazed look upon his face, and what made that uncomfortable was that Helen couldn't tell if he was staring at her or Julia.

His mouth was gaping slightly, for a whole four seconds, before vicious kicked him from behind.

", Stop being rude, lunkhead, say 'hi'."

The green haired man shook his head, returning to normal, but, still frowning. ", Uhh, hi," He gave a pitiful wave.

", Hi," Julia and Helen said in unison.


	3. Huh

_**So, Lunaescence won't let my nerd freak flag fly. Damn, that's disappointing ,but, at least I still have my three favoriters on . Thank you Amymikaelson, ergelina, schizophrenic-unicorn,and Miss luny. I really would've abandoned this, had i not gotten proof someone cared about it.**_

Three hours had come and gone, before the four knew it was last call. By this time, Helen and Spike were the only ones drunk, but, the group was split up one drunken person to one sober. Julia and Spike, who had forfeited the game of pool, had taken to sitting in a less crowded area of the bar so they could attempt to get the images of their respective best friends flirting with each other out of their heads.

Julia was watching with a somewhat confused, somewhat disgusted expression. Having heard countless war stories about the man, this Vicious was acting out of character. And poor Helen was just too far gone, between all the liquor and Vicious continuously leaning behind her whispering god know what in her ear. The woman was doomed. Despite the bad feelings Julia was getting from the washed out man she was happy to finally see her friend in the careless euphoria that was a girls first crush.

With a smooth grin on her face, she turned to face the tall, green haired man she heard her friend identify as Spike. He was good looking, that was for sure, but, there was something hidden in him, as well. Not like the Venus flytrap his buddy was, Spike was more like a moon flower. Not much to look at right now, but, he has something beautiful inside.

Nursing his caramel colored whiskey, he stared at the pair of soldiers across the room. His mouth twitched like he wanted to say something. Julia leaned in a touch closer, eyebrows raised in curiosity.

",Buuuurgh," He let out a foul belch that smelled of cigarettes and liquor.

_',So much for that thought,'_ She deadpanned internally.

", Excuse you," She said, letting her eyes fall back to her pet ginger.

", Don't mention it," He said back.

',_jackass,'_ Her own eye was twitching.

He looked slightly irritated, though for what, Julia couldn't fathom. She let it go, seeing as she really was beginning to not enjoy his company, but, his expression was unnerving. His whole presence was giving her a migraine.

", So, how long have you known her?" He suddenly asked.

",You mean Helen?" She responded.

The green haired man nodded his head in a drunken up and down bob.

", Pretty much since we were born. There's hardly a memory I have growing up that doesn't somehow involve her".

She returned her eyes to her red-haired friend. She hoped her friend wouldn't regret this in the morning. Vicious obviously wouldn't he was the most sober out of all of them. Helen wasn't the type to just sleep with a friend and be over it, she was a woman who craved companionship more than anything. The poor girl had learned the true intentions of men the hard way, when she was younger, so she made a rule of not sleeping with men she knew. That way both parties involved wanted the same thing, and she wouldn't be making some stupid excuse to get out of a stupid situation. From what Helen told Julia, Vicious was both a friend and a stranger to her, and, that's what would make this complicated for the ginger. Julia already knew where the night was headed, it was saturated in windex. She just wasn't looking forward to seeing what would be in store for Helen after this night was over. Whatever happened would complicate their mission on Mars, that would be problematic to say the least.

", How long have you known Vicious?" She asked, wanting more information on the man.

The green haired man's head shot up in surprise. ",Hmm, oh, since we were kids. We used to pick pocket the same streets, we met when we tried to lift the same guy. Bastard chased after the both of us," He stated blandly.

Julia gave her almost invisible smile. ",So, you two were street rats, huh," She warmed at the wave of fond memories as they glided over her. ", That's something we can relate to".

He looked only slightly offended at the term 'street rats' but he let it go seeing Helen and Vicious making their way to the exit without even passing to give word to their companions. He just frowned deeply at the sight before shaking it off to go pay the bar tab, leaving a gaping Julia in the corner.

_**Questions? Comments? Requests? drop a review! I will answer whatever you send me. Flamers beware. Btw I am looking for a beta reader. Anyone interested?**_


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